U.S. patent application number 16/920262 was filed with the patent office on 2020-12-17 for wireless client transaction systems and related methods.
This patent application is currently assigned to Green Dot Corporation. The applicant listed for this patent is Green Dot Corporation. Invention is credited to Samuel Harris Altman, Pravin Shankar, Steven William Streit.
Application Number | 20200394642 16/920262 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005051627 |
Filed Date | 2020-12-17 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200394642 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Shankar; Pravin ; et
al. |
December 17, 2020 |
Wireless Client Transaction Systems and Related Methods
Abstract
Embodiments of wireless client transaction systems are described
herein. Other embodiments and related methods are also disclosed
herein.
Inventors: |
Shankar; Pravin; (Santa
Clara, CA) ; Streit; Steven William; (Pasadena,
CA) ; Altman; Samuel Harris; (San Francisco,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Green Dot Corporation |
Pasadena |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Green Dot Corporation
Pasadena
CA
|
Family ID: |
1000005051627 |
Appl. No.: |
16/920262 |
Filed: |
July 2, 2020 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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15921261 |
Mar 14, 2018 |
10706405 |
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16920262 |
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13931183 |
Jun 28, 2013 |
9947004 |
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15921261 |
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61665853 |
Jun 28, 2012 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 8/005 20130101;
H04W 12/06 20130101; G06Q 20/3224 20130101; G01S 5/02 20130101;
H04W 4/021 20130101; H04W 12/0608 20190101; H04L 63/107 20130101;
H04L 63/083 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 20/32 20060101
G06Q020/32; H04L 29/06 20060101 H04L029/06; H04W 4/021 20060101
H04W004/021; H04W 8/00 20060101 H04W008/00; G01S 5/02 20060101
G01S005/02; H04W 12/06 20060101 H04W012/06 |
Claims
1. A system comprising: a client ID module comprising: a scanning
module is configured to: scan a wireless channel set at a business
locale for wireless signals of a registered customer set; identify,
out of the wireless signals, first wireless packets of a first
client of the registered customer set; and calculate a first client
signal strength of the first wireless packets; and a localization
module configured to: calculate whether the first client is at a
transaction area of the business locale based on the first client
signal strength and without reliance on NFC technology.
2. The system of claim 1, further comprising: a training module
configured to generate a first signal strength chart of a portion
of the business locale for a first reference device type; wherein:
the first signal strength chart is generated from first reference
signal strengths calculated by the scanning module for first
reference wireless packets of the first reference device type; the
first reference wireless packets comprise: first nearby reference
wireless packets of the first reference device type; and first
distant reference wireless packets of the first reference device
type; the first reference signal strengths comprise: a first nearby
reference signal strength of the first reference device type,
calculated from the first nearby reference wireless packets
received by the scanning module from a nearby reference location at
the business locale; and a first distant reference signal strength
of the first reference device type, calculated from the first
distant reference wireless packets received by the scanning module
from a distant reference location at the business locale; and the
nearby reference location is closer to the scanning module than the
distant reference location.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Patent Application No. 61/665,853, filed on Jun. 28, 2012. The
disclosure of the referenced application is incorporated herein by
reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates generally to wireless identification
technologies, and relates, more particularly, to wireless client
transaction systems and related methods.
BACKGROUND
[0003] For the past several decades, credit cards have been the
most popular form of payment at retail stores. Recently there has
been a push by several credit card service providers, cellular
service providers and software companies towards Near Field
Communication (NFC) as an improved alternate to credit cards. NFC
devices are purported to be more secure and more convenient to use,
but most mobile phones today do not include NFC hardware, which
adds cost and complexity to the design of mobile devices, and which
has therefore not become ubiquitous in the market. Accordingly,
NFC-based systems are constrained due to the lack of supported
hardware in use by clients.
[0004] Therefore, a need exists in the art to develop mobile client
identification systems and related methods that address such
limitations of the current technology without imposing additional
inconvenience or hardware upgrade costs to clients or consumers
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] The invention will be better understood from a reading of
the following detailed description of examples of embodiments,
taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures in the drawings
in which:
[0006] FIG. 1 illustrates a high-level overview of a transaction
system for wireless clients, shown in the context of a business
locale.
[0007] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the transaction system
of FIG. 1 with respect to one embodiment thereof.
[0008] FIG. 3 illustrates a computer suitable for implementing an
embodiment of at least a portion of the transaction system of FIG.
1.
[0009] FIG. 4 presents a representative block diagram of elements
of the computer of FIG. 3.
[0010] FIG. 5 illustrates exemplary information contained by a
registered customer set stored in a database of the transaction
system of FIG. 1.
[0011] FIG. 6 illustrates a screen of a user interface of a point
of service module of the transaction system, presenting a
transaction option correlated to a first user to request or process
a purchase transaction.
[0012] FIG. 7 illustrates a client screen of a wireless client,
showing a payment confirmation request received by the wireless
client wireless client 1310 from the point of service module, and
presented to the first user to request a confirmation of payment
for the purchase transaction presented to the user in FIG. 6.
[0013] FIG. 8 illustrates a screen of the user interface of the
point of service module of the transaction system, presenting a
second transaction option correlated to a second user to request or
process a purchase transaction.
[0014] FIG. 9 illustrates a screen of the user interface of the
point of service module of the transaction system, presenting both
the first transaction option correlated to the first user and the
second transaction option correlated to the second user for
situations where both the first and second users are detected to be
at a transaction area of the business locale proximate the point of
service module.
[0015] FIG. 10 illustrates a Received Signal Strength (RSS) chart
in map format for a reference device type, with respect to which
one or more wireless clients can be localized by the transaction
system at the business locale.
[0016] FIG. 11 illustrates the RSS chart in map format, with
respect to which one or more wireless clients can be localized by
the transaction system at the business locale.
[0017] FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart for a method of providing
the wireless transaction system.
[0018] FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart for a method of transacting
with wireless clients via the transaction system.
[0019] For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing
figures illustrate the general manner of construction, and
descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may
be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention.
Additionally, elements in the drawing figures are not necessarily
drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements
in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to
help improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The same reference numerals in different figures denote the same
elements.
[0020] The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and the like
in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for
distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for
describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to
be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under
appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments described
herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other
than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore,
the terms "include," and "have," and any variations thereof, are
intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process,
method, system, article, device, or apparatus that comprises a list
of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may
include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such
process, method, system, article, device, or apparatus.
[0021] The terms "left," "right," "front," "back," "top," "bottom."
"over," "under," and the like in the description and in the claims,
if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for
describing permanent relative positions. It is to be understood
that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate
circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described
herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations
than those illustrated or otherwise described herein.
[0022] The terms "couple," "coupled," "couples," "coupling," and
the like should be broadly understood and refer to connecting two
or more elements or signals, electrically, mechanically or
otherwise. Two or more electrical elements may be electrically
coupled, but not mechanically or otherwise coupled; two or more
mechanical elements may be mechanically coupled, but not
electrically or otherwise coupled; two or more electrical elements
may be mechanically coupled, but not electrically or otherwise
coupled. Coupling (whether mechanical, electrical, or otherwise)
may be for any length of time, e.g., permanent or semi-permanent or
only for an instant.
[0023] "Electrical coupling" and the like should be broadly
understood and include coupling involving any electrical signal,
whether a power signal, a data signal, and/or other types or
combinations of electrical signals. "Mechanical coupling" and the
like should be broadly understood and include mechanical coupling
of all types. The absence of the word "removably," "removable," and
the like near the word "coupled." and the like does not mean that
the coupling, etc. in question is or is not removable.
SUMMARY
[0024] Credit cards and NFC devices cover two ends of the payments
spectrum. There is a middle ground that has not been explored much
to date. The present disclosure explores this middle ground,
allowing mobile phones to be used for contactess payments at retail
stores, without requiring them to be equipped with NFC hardware.
The proposed approach leverages existing radio on mobile phones,
including WiFi (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/nh WiPAN (IEEE 802.15) such as
Bluetooth.RTM., and/or cellular data (W-CDMA, HSPA, EDGE, WiMAX,
LTE, etc.). Almost all phones today are equipped with one or more
of these radio technologies, and by fingerprinting the radio signal
profile passively via access points at a Point of Service (POS), it
is possible to passively localize the mobile phone without imposing
an additional hardware or software requirements. The systems and
methods described herein permit a POS module to know when the
client's mobile phone is close to it and ready for a transaction,
such as a payment transaction, without requiring specialized NFC
hardware technology.
[0025] The present disclosure describes wireless client transaction
systems and methods for identifying users at transaction areas
within a business locale, using passive radio fingerprinting of the
users' respective wireless clients. As used herein, the term
wireless client can refer to personal wireless mobile devices
comprising, for example, cellular phones, smartphones, and/or
tablet devices. Such transaction systems may be implemented via
dedicated hardware and/or via software running on devices such as
wireless access points, laptops, PCs, tablets, phones, or a
combination of hardware and software on multiple devices and
radios. In some examples, communication for the systems and methods
herein can be implemented via WiFi (IEEE 802.11). In the same or
other examples, other wireless technologies can be used, as
described above.
[0026] A high-level overview of transaction system 1000 is shown in
FIG. 1, in the context of business locale 1900, where at least part
of transaction system 1000 is located at or proximate to
transactional area 1910 of business locale 1900. Transaction system
1000 relies on radio 1710 (WiFi, WiPAN, cellular, etc.) to
passively scan for wireless packets of wireless clients 1300. Upon
finding such wireless packets, transaction system 1000 checks if
they come from wireless client(s) 1300 of registered user(s) of
wireless transaction system 1000. Such assessment can be made, for
example, based on the hardware address (MAC addresses, device
unique identifiers, etc.) of the wireless client(s) 1300 of the
users. Transaction system 1000 can then determine, based on the
signal strength of received wireless packets of wireless client(s)
1300, if the registered user of wireless client 1310 is within
transaction area 1910 and/or proximate to POS module 1100. Upon
detecting such a situation, transaction system 1000 can identify
and/or greet the user of wireless client 1310 with a transaction
option correlated to wireless client 1310, such as a transaction
option for the user to pay via wireless client 1310.
[0027] In some examples, when the user chooses such transaction
option, transaction system 1000 can send a confirmation message
(text message, push notification, etc.) to wireless client 1310,
prompting the user respond to the message by supplying a password,
such as a personal identification number (PIN). Upon receiving the
response from the user of wireless client 1310 and verifying the
password, transaction system 1000 can then process and/or proceed
to finalize the transaction.
[0028] In some situations, if transaction system 1000 determines
that multiple wireless clients 1300 are located within transaction
area 1910 and/or proximate to POS module 1100, POS module 1000 can
present multiple respective transaction options correlated to the
respective multiple wireless clients 1300. Accordingly, the
appropriate user wishing to carry out the transaction can choose
the proper transaction option correlated thereto, and confirm the
transaction with his/her password.
[0029] The security of wireless transaction system 1000 thus
remains assured provided that (1) the user does not lose his/her
registered wireless client, and (2) the user's password does not
get compromised. If one of the two assumptions is broken, the
wireless transaction system 1000 still remains secure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] In one embodiment, a system and/or an apparatus can comprise
a client ID module and a localization module. The client module can
be configured to (a) scan a wireless channel set at a business
locale for wireless signals of a registered customer set, to (b)
identify, out of the wireless signals, first wireless packets of a
first client of the registered customer set; and to (c) calculate a
first client signal strength of the first wireless packets. The
localization module can be configured to calculate whether the
first client is at a transaction area of the business locale based
on the first client signal strength and without reliance on NFC
technology.
[0031] In one example, a method for transacting with wireless
clients can comprise (a) scanning, via a scanning module, a
wireless channel set at a business locale for wireless signals of a
registered customer set, (b) identifying via the scanning module,
out of the wireless signals, first wireless packets of a first
client of the registered customer set, (c) calculating, via the
scanning module, a first client signal strength of the first
wireless packets; and (d) calculating, via a localization module,
whether the first client is at a transaction area of the business
locale based on the first client signal strength and without
reliance on NFC technology.
[0032] In one example, a method comprise providing a client ID
module, and providing at least one of a training module or a point
of service module. The client ID module can comprise a scanning
module and a localization module. The client ID module can be
configured to (a) scan a wireless channel set at a business locale
for wireless signals of a registered customer set; (b) identify,
out of the wireless signals, first wireless packets of a first
client of the registered customer set; and (c) calculate a first
client signal strength of the first wireless packets. The
localization module can be configured to calculate whether the
first client is at a transaction area of the business locale based
on the first client signal strength and without reliance on NFC
technology. The training module can be configured to generate a
first signal strength chart of a portion of the business locale for
a first reference device type, against which first signal strength
chart the localization module can compare the first client signal
strength to locate the first client; The POS module can be
configured to present, at the transaction area, a user interface
comprising a first transaction option correlated to the first
client based on the calculation by the localization module of
whether the first client is at the transaction area.
[0033] Other examples and embodiments are further disclosed herein.
Such examples and embodiments may be found in the figures, in the
claims, and/or in the present description.
[0034] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the transaction system
1000 introduced above in FIG. 1, with respect to one embodiment
thereof. Transaction system 1000 comprises client identification
(ID) module 2210, which includes scanning module 2210 and
localization module 2220 in the present example. Scanning module
2210 is configured to identify the presence of one or more wireless
clients 1300 (FIG. 1), and Localization module 2220 is configured
to determine a location of such wireless clients 1300 within
business locale 1900. Transaction system 1000 also comprises POS
module 1100, which is configured to interface with users 1400 of
wireless clients 1300 at transactional area 1910 (FIG. 1) based on
wireless client information determined by client ID module 1200.
The present embodiment also comprises training module 2300, which
is configured to measure environment fingerprint information about
business locale 1900 with respect to reference wireless clients,
where such environment fingerprint information can be later used by
client ID module 1200 to locate individual ones of wireless clients
1300 at business locale 1900 (FIG. 1). Although FIG. 2 illustrates
client ID module 1200 and POS module 1100 as distinct from each
other, there can be embodiments where such modules can be part of
each other and/or coupled together as seen in FIG. 1. In addition,
there can also be other embodiments where training module 2300 can
be optional and/or detached from client ID module 1200.
[0035] In some examples, at least part of transaction system 1000,
such as scanning module 2210 and/or localization module 2220, can
be implemented via computing device 1700. (FIG. 1) Computing device
1700 comprises a desktop computer in the present example, but there
can be other examples where computing device 1700 can comprise a
laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, and/or
other computing devices with wireless functionality. The wireless
functionality of computing device 1700 can comprise radio 1710
operating pursuant to the WiFi standard (IEEE 802.11) such as in
the present embodiment, but can also be based on other standards
such as Bluetooth.RTM. or WPAN (IEEE 802.15), and/or cellular
standards like W-CDMA, HSPA, EDGE. WiMAX, and/or LTE, among others.
It is understood that additional and/or alternate hardware, radio
technologies, and/or operating systems may be utilized within the
scope of this disclosure.
[0036] WiFi usage on modern wireless clients such as smartphones is
growing rapidly, and most smartphones include WiFi radio hardware
to connect to wireless access points. Since the current trend is
for cellular data plans to move from unlimited to limited and
tiered bandwidth usage, it is expected that WiFi will continue to
be popular on smartphones in the future.
[0037] FIG. 3 illustrates a computer 900 suitable for implementing
an embodiment of computing device 1700. Computer 900 includes a
chassis 902 containing one or more circuit boards (not shown), a
USB (universal serial bus) port 912, a Compact Disc Read-Only
Memory (CD-ROM) and/or Digital Video Disc (DVD) drive 916, and a
hard drive 914. A representative block diagram of the elements
included on the circuit boards inside chassis 902 is shown in FIG.
4. A central processing unit (CPU) 1010 is coupled to a system bus
1014 in FIG. 4. In various embodiments, the architecture of CPU
1010 can be compliant with any of a variety of commercially
distributed architecture families.
[0038] System bus 1014 also is coupled to memory 1008 that includes
both read only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM).
Non-volatile portions of memory 1008 or the ROM can be encoded with
a boot code sequence suitable for restoring computer 900 (FIG. 3)
to a functional state after a system reset. In addition, memory
1008 can include microcode such as a Basic input-Output System
(BIOS). In the depicted embodiment of FIG. 4, various 10 devices
such as a disk controller 1004, a graphics adapter 1024, a video
controller 1002, a keyboard adapter 1026, a mouse adapter 1006, a
network adapter 1020, and other I/O devices 1022 can be coupled to
system bus 1014. Keyboard adapter 1026 and mouse adapter 1006 are
coupled in the present example to keyboard 904 and mouse 910,
respectively, of computer 900. While graphics adapter 1024 and
video controller 1002 are indicated as distinct units in FIG. 4,
video controller 1002 can be integrated into graphics adapter 1024,
or vice versa in other embodiments. Video controller 1002 is
suitable for refreshing monitor 906 to display images on a screen
908 of computer 900. Disk controller 1004 can control hard drive
914, USB port 912, and/or CD-ROM or DVD drive 916. In other
embodiments, distinct units can be used to control each of these
devices separately.
[0039] Network adapters 1020 can be coupled to one or more
antennas. In some embodiments, network adapter 1020 can be
configured for WiFi communication (IEEE 802.11), and/or may be part
of a WNIC (wireless network interface controller) card (not shown)
plugged or coupled to an expansion port (not shown) in computer
900. Such WNIC card can be a wireless network card built into
internal computer 900 in some examples. A wireless network adapter
can be built into internal client computer 900 by having wireless
Ethernet capabilities integrated into the motherboard chipset, or
implemented via a dedicated wireless Ethernet chip, connected
through the PCI (peripheral component interconnector) or a PCI
express bus. In the same or other embodiments, network adapters
1020 can be configured for communication via other wireless
protocols, such as via WPAN (IEEE 802.15), and/or via cellular data
like W-CDMA, HSPA, HSPA+, EDGE, WiMAX, LTE, or others. In other
embodiments, network adapter 1020 can be a wired network
adapter.
[0040] Although other components of computer 900 are not shown,
such components and their interconnection are well known to those
of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, further details
concerning the construction and composition of computer 900 and the
circuit boards inside chassis 902 need not be discussed herein.
[0041] When computer 900 is in operation, program instructions
stored on hard drive 914, on memory 1008, on a USB drive in USB
port 912, and/or on a CD-ROM or DVD in CD-ROM and/or DVD drive 916,
can be executed by CPU 1010 (FIG. 10). Such program instructions
may correspond to an operating system (OS) such as a Microsoft
Windows (OS), an Apple iOS OS, a Linux OS, and/or an Android OS,
among others. A portion of such program instructions can be
suitable for implementing or carrying out the systems and methods
described herein.
[0042] Backtracking to FIGS. 1-2, client ID module 1200 comprises
scanning module 2210, which is configured to passively scan
wireless channel set 1600 at business locale 1900 for wireless
signals from wireless clients 1300 of registered customer set 2251,
and to identify, out of such wireless signals, wireless packets of
respective wireless clients 1300 of registered customer set 2251.
Registered customer set 2251 can be a list or data structure with
information about customers that have registered for service from
transaction system 1000, and can be accessed by scanning module
2210 from database 2250 either locally or remotely, such as via the
Internet. FIG. 5 illustrates an example of information contained by
registered customer set 2251 as stored in database 2250.
[0043] In the present example, with respect to FIG. 1, scanning
module 2210 can scan wireless channel set 1600 for wireless signals
of wireless clients 1300, and can detect wireless packets 1311 from
wireless client 1310 of user 1410, wireless packets 1321 from
wireless client 1320 of user 1420, and wireless packets 1331 from
wireless client 1330 of user 1430. For purposes of the present
example, users 1410 and 1420 have signed up their respective
wireless clients 1310 and 1320 for service from transaction system
1000, but user 1430 has not. Accordingly, as seen in FIG. 5, client
ID information 510 for wireless clients 1310 and 1320 of respective
users 1410 and 1420 exists at database 2250 as part of registered
customer set 2251, but not for wireless client 1330 of user 1430.
Scanning module 2210 can thus compare data from wireless packets
1311, 1321, and 1331 against client ID information 510 of
registered customer set 2251 to thereby identify that wireless
clients 1310 and 1320 belong to registered customer set 2251 and
have registered for service, and that wireless client 1330 has
not.
[0044] While scanning wireless channel set 1600, scanning module
2210 can set a radio driver for radio 1710 to a passive listening
mode (e.g., "monitor" or "pseudo IBSS"), and/or to a promiscuous
mode to scan for wireless packets from wireless clients 1300. With
respect to WiFi, an example of such passive listening mode
configuration can be the "monitor" mode supported by Intel.RTM.
wireless chipset radios using the "iwlwifi" drivers, and the
"pseudoIBSS" mode supported by Atheros.RTM. chipset radios using
the "madwifi" drivers. In such passive listening mode, the WiFi
radio does not associate to any wireless access point, but can be
set to listen on any frequency/channel. Channel set 1600 supports
11 channels (from 1 to 11) in the 2.4 GHz frequency spectrum for
WiFi 802.11 b/g, and support several channels in the 5 Ghz spectrum
(the exact channels supported varies between countries) for WiFi
802.11a. Radio 1710 can be set to monitor one or more of these WiFi
channels as part of wireless channel set 1600, and can receive
wireless packets that any of wireless clients 1300 transmits on
such channel(s).
[0045] In some examples, scanning module 2210 can use a packet
capture library, such as the Linux libpcap library, and may
activate a callback module every time a new wireless packet from
wireless clients 1300 is received. Such callback module of scanning
module 2210 can mad the packet for client statistics 2215,
including a received signal strength (RSS) transmission rate,
frequency, and/or length, and can record such client statistics
2215 in a data structure such as a hash table. In some examples
such data structure for client statistics 2212 can be stored at
database 2250.
[0046] As seen in FIG. 2, radio 1710 is coupled in the present
embodiment to switching module 2230, which is configured to cause
the radio driver for radio 1710 to switch between the different
channels of wireless channel set 1600. Due to the switching
provided by switching module 2230, scanning module 2210 can gather
information from the wireless packets sent by wireless clients 1300
amongst the different frequency channels of wireless channel set
1600. In order to monitor as many wireless packets as possible,
switching module 2230 can be set to rapidly switch between all the
possible channels of wireless channel set 1600. Channel switching
incurs latency, so it can be important to choose the most likely
channels that wireless clients 1300 may transmit through. With
respect to WiFi, out of the 11 possible 802.11 b/g channels, only 3
are non-overlapping (1, 6 and 11), and thus most wireless access
points are set up on one of these three channels. Accordingly,
switching module 2230 can be configured to focus on non-overlapping
channels by, for example, scanning them more repeatedly than other
wireless channels. In the same or other examples scanning module
2210 can be configured to determine, via the switching provided by
switching module 2230, which channels of wireless channel set 1600
are currently high-traffic channels for wireless clients 1300 of
registered customer set 2251 at business locale 1900. Once such
high-traffic channels are determined, scanning module can be
configured to scan, via the switching provided by switching module
2230, each channel of wireless channel set 1600 in a probabilistic
weighted order where the high-traffic channels are scanned for the
wireless signals more repeatedly than lower-traffic channels of
wireless channel set 1600. Alternatively, the scanning module 2210
could employ multiple radios, each scanning on different
non-overlapping sets of frequency channels.
[0047] The wireless packets received by scanning module 2210 can be
subdivided into several portions according to the packet structure
designated by their corresponding wireless protocol. Scanning
module 2210 can extract packet header information from the wireless
packets of wireless clients 1300. Accordingly, whether for WiFi or
other wireless communication protocols, scanning module 2210 can be
configured to extract client identifier information from the packet
headers of wireless packets it receives. For example, scanning
module 2210 can parse wireless packets 1311 of wireless client 1310
to extract client identifier 13111 therefrom, and can then identify
wireless client 1310 as pertaining to registered customer set 2251
by comparing client identifier 13111 against client ID information
510 (FIG. 5) from registered customer set. 2251 in database 2250.
In some examples, scanning module 2210 can scan for wireless
packets 1311, and/or parse wireless packets 1311, based on a WiFi
IEEE 802.11 packet structure, a WPAN IEEE 802.15 packet structure,
and/or based on a cellular data packet structure. In the same or
other examples, client identifier 13111 can comprise at least one
of a Media Access Control (MAC) address or an Extended Unique
Identifier (EUI) address.
[0048] Having identified wireless client 1310 based on wireless
packets 1311 as described above, the presence of wireless client
1310 within business locale 1900 is thus established. Scanning
module 2210 can also determine other information, statistics, or
meta-data from wireless packets 1311 about wireless client 1310 to
assist in locating wireless client 1310 within business locale
1900. In some examples, such meta-data can comprise a client device
type of wireless client 1310, where such client device type can
comprise information such as a type, brand, and/or model of the
wireless client 1310. For instance, based on client identifier
13111 extracted from wireless packets 1311, scanning module 2210
can cross-reference registered customer set 2251 (FIG. 5) for the
corresponding entries for wireless client 1310, and thus extract
therefrom client device type information 530 for wireless client
1310.
[0049] In the same or other examples, the meta-data determined by
scanning module 2210 from wireless packets 1311 can comprise a
bitrate for wireless packets 1311, a frequency channel for wireless
packets 1311, and/or a received signal strength (RSS) for wireless
packets 1311 of wireless client 1310. The RSS can be calculated by
scanning module 2210 while monitoring from wireless packets 1311,
and can be a good indicator of the proximity of corresponding
wireless client 1300 to scanning module 2210 and/or to
transactional area 1910 at business locale 1900.
[0050] Transaction system 1000 (FIGS. 1-2) comprises localization
module 2220 configured to determine the location of wireless
clients 1300 identified by scanning module 2210. For example,
localization module 2220 can calculate whether wireless client 1310
is located at transaction area 1910 of business locale 1900 based
on the RSS calculated by scanning module 2210 for wireless packets
1311. In one simplified implementation, localization module 2220
can compare the RSS for the different wireless clients 1300 at
business locale 1900, and ascertain that the one with the greatest
RSS is likely to be located closest to radio 1710 and thus located
at transaction area 1910. Other localization techniques are further
described below. Localization module 2220 can thus calculate such
location of wireless client 1310 and/or the location of other ones
of wireless clients 1300 without reliance on NFC technology, such
that transaction system 1000 can be made accessible to wireless
clients 1300 without requiring them to have NFC hardware or
software.
[0051] Transaction system 1000 further comprises POS module 1100,
which is configured to present user interface 1110 at transaction
area 1910 of business locale 1900. FIG. 6 illustrates screen 6500
of user interface 1110, which can be presented to a user to process
a purchase transaction. For example, once wireless client 1310 has
been identified by scanning module 2210 as being present at
business locale 1900 and when localization module 2220 has located
wireless client 1310 as being at transaction area 1910 of business
locale 1900 as described above, user interface screen 6500 can be
presented with one or more transaction options 6510, including
transaction option 6511, to process a purchase transaction. In the
present example, transaction option 6511 is correlated to wireless
client 1310 based on the above-described assessment by localization
module 2220 that wireless client 1310 is located at transactional
area 1910. Accordingly, transaction option 6511 can identify user
1410 (FIG. 1) by name or username, and can provide an alternative
to user 1410 to "pay by phone" via wireless client 1310 rather than
by credit card or cash.
[0052] Upon selection of transaction option 6511 by user 1410, POS
module 1100 can emit a payment confirmation request to wireless
client 1310. FIG. 7 illustrates client screen 7500, which shows
payment confirmation request 7510 received by wireless client 1310
and presented thereat to user 1410 to request confirmation of
payment for the transaction presented to user 1410 at screen 6500
of user interface 1110 (FIG. 6). In some examples, payment
confirmation request 7510 can be sent to wireless client 1310 in
the form of a text message, such as an SMS (Short Message Service)
message, that can be displayed by wireless client 1310. In the same
or other examples, payment confirmation request 7510 can be sent to
an application or other software installed on wireless client 1310
and configured to present confirmation request 7510 to user 1410
and to request payment authentication 7520.
[0053] After receiving payment confirmation request 7510, user 1410
can accept the transaction by entering his or her user password as
payment authentication 7520. Payment authentication 7520 is then
sent by wireless client 1310, received wirelessly by POS module
1100, and, if the user password is correct, POS module 1100 can
proceed to carry out the transaction by billing the account of user
1410. In the present embodiment, the user password received via
payment authentication 7520 can be authenticated by POS module 1100
via comparison with a reference password previously entered by user
1410 for its account with transaction system 1000 (FIG. 1). The
reference password can be stored, correlated to wireless client
1310, at registered customer set 2251 for access by POS module 1100
via database 2250 in some embodiments. In the same or other
embodiments, payment method information, such as credit card or
bank account information, can also be stored correlated to wireless
client 1310 at registered customer set 2251 so that POS module 1100
can bill the account of user 1410 accordingly upon receipt of
payment authentication 7520.
[0054] In some instances, more than one of wireless clients 1300
can be located at business locale 1900 (FIG. 1). For instance,
wireless clients 1310 and 1320 could be both located at or close to
transactional area 1910. In such situations, scanning module 2210
(FIG. 2) can be configured to identify wireless packets 131 of
wireless client 1310 and wireless packets 1321 of wireless client
1320, and to calculate the RSS for wireless packets 1311 and 1321
(FIG. 1). Localization module 2220 can then compare the RSS of
wireless packets 1311 against the RSS of wireless packets 1321.
Based on such comparison, if localization module 2220 determines
that the RSS of wireless packets 1311 of wireless client 1310 is
greater than the RSS of wireless packets 1321 of wireless client
1320, POS module 1100 can proceed to present transaction option
6511 at user interface 1110 for user 1410 as shown in screen 6500
of FIG. 6. To the contrary, if localization module 2220 determines
that the RSS of wireless packets 1321 of wireless client 1320 is
greater than the RSS of wireless packets 1311 of wireless client
1310, POS module 1100 can proceed to present transaction option
8511 at user interface 1110 for user 14200 as shown in screen 8500
of FIG. 8.
[0055] There can be situations where more than one of wireless
clients 1300 can be located within transaction area 1910, or be
sufficiently close to each other, in such a way that localization
module 2220 may have problems distinguishing which of users 1400 is
at or closer to user interface 1110 (FIGS. 1-2). For instance, if
wireless clients 1310 and 1320 were next to each other within
transaction area 1910, the RSS calculated by scanning module 2210
for wireless packets 1311 of wireless client 1310 could be similar
to the RSS calculated by scanning module 2210 for wireless packets
1321 of wireless client 1320. In such a situation, localization
module 2220 may not be able to properly ascertain which RSS is
greater with a minimum degree of certainty. Localization module
2220 may thus not be able to determine whether to present
transaction option 6511 (FIG. 6) correlated to wireless client 1310
and user 1410 (FIG. 1), or to present transaction option 8511 (FIG.
8) correlated to wireless client 1320 and user 1420 (FIG. 1). In
such circumstances, as seen in FIG. 9, POS module 1100 may present
screen 9500 comprising transaction option 6511 for user 1410 to
self-identify with respect to wireless client 1310, and comprising
transaction option 8511 for user 1420 to self-identify with respect
to wireless client 1320.
[0056] Transaction system 1000 can be configured in some
implementations to generate aggregate statistics from the wireless
packets of wireless clients 1300, and to locate individual ones of
wireless clients 1300 based on such aggregate statistics. For
example, localization module 2220 can be configured to generate
aggregate statistics for wireless client 1310 based on wireless
packets 1311, including an aggregate RSS of wireless packets 1311
of wireless client 1310 throughout a latest time period.
[0057] In some examples, the aggregate RSS of wireless packets 1311
can comprise at least one of a signal strength mean, a signal
strength variance, a signal strength median, and/or a signal
strength quartile. In the same or other examples, the aggregate
statistics for wireless client 1310 can comprise a number of
frequency channels used for wireless packets 1311 throughout the
latest time period, and/or a number of wireless packets 1311
transmitted throughout the latest time period. Localization module
2220 can also be configured to generate aggregate statistics for
wireless client 1302 based on wireless packets 1321, including an
aggregate RSS of wireless packets 1321 for the latest time
period.
[0058] Such aggregation can normalize the statistics calculated by
scanning module 2210 from the wireless packets of wireless clients
1300, where such statistics could otherwise vary per individual
wireless client in response to, for example, interference or
movement within business locale 1900 relative to radio 1710,
scanning module 2210, and/or POS module 1100. Thus, the aggregation
of statistics can permit the generation of more stable and less
noisy RSS values with respect to which localization module 2220 can
more reliably ascertain the location of wireless clients 1300 at
business locale 1900. Such aggregation can be made throughout a
latest time period, which can be of approximately 2 seconds in some
implementations, and which can repeat periodically. For instance,
if the RSS statistics for wireless packets 1311 of wireless client
1310 do not change significantly throughout the latest time period
of aggregation, localization module 2220 can ascertain that
wireless client 1310 is not moving within business locale 1900.
[0059] In some examples, the aggregate statistics for wireless
client 1310 can be based on a time-weighted standard where, with
respect to the latest time period, later statistics measured or
generated from later ones of wireless packets 1311 are weighted
more heavily than earlier statistics measured or generated from
earlier ones of wireless packets 1311.
[0060] In embodiments where transaction system 1000 aggregates
statistics as described above, POS module 1100 can be configured to
present transaction option 6511 (FIG. 6) correlated to wireless
client 1310 if the aggregate RSS of wireless packets 1311 is
greater than the aggregate RSS of wireless packets 1321 by at least
a minimum signal strength threshold difference, and/or if the
aggregate RSS of wireless packets 1311 is greater than a minimum
signal strength threshold value. Similarly, POS module 1100 can be
configured to present transaction option 8511 (FIG. 8) correlated
instead to wireless client 1320 if the aggregate RSS of wireless
packets 132) is greater than the aggregate RSS of wireless packets
1311 by at least the minimum signal strength threshold difference,
and/or if the aggregate RSS of wireless packets 1321 is greater
than the minimum signal strength threshold value.
[0061] As seen in FIG. 2, transaction system 1000 can also
optionally comprise training module 2300, which is configured to
measure and generate reference environment information with respect
to fingerprints of reference wireless devices at business locale
1900. Such reference environment information an be later used to
assist client ID module 1200 in locating wireless clients 1300
within business locale 1900.
[0062] One approach for client localization in transaction system
1000 can be to generate one or more received signal strength (RSS)
charts with training module 2300 with respect to stochastic
distributions for wireless signals transmitted under different
conditions from several locations in the area of business locale
1900. In some examples, the RSS charts can be conceptualized in
terms of a table format and/or a map format. FIG. 10 illustrates
RSS chart 10000 in map format 10100 for reference device type 10510
at business locale 1900. FIG. 11 illustrates RSS chart 10000 in
table format 11100 for reference device type 10510 at business
locale 1900.
[0063] The RSS charts can be constructed based on vectors of RSS
measurements correlated to a specific locations and/or to specific
conditions of corresponding wireless packets from a reference
device type. The reference device type can relate to a specific
type (cellular phone, smartphone, tablet, etc), brand, and/or model
of wireless device for which the RSS chart is built. In some
examples, the RSS vectors can be similar to the following:
<location, reference device type, bit rate, frequency channel,
packet size, RSS>, where such RSS vector specifies an RSS
measured for a wireless packet received from a location within
business locale 1900, transmitted from a reference device type at a
specific bitrate, frequency channel, and packet size.
[0064] Data for the RSS vectors can be generated or captured by
scanning module 2210 in some implementations from wireless packets
of one or more reference wireless devices, and fed to training
module 2300 to construct the RSS charts. For instance, FIG. 10
shows RSS chart 10000 in map format 10100, with a layout of
business locale 1900 comprising different locations thereat, such
as transaction area 1920, queue area 1920 and entrance area 10930.
Reference wireless packets 10511 from reference device type 10510
can be originated from different locations of business locale 1900,
and processed by training module 2300 to generate RSS vectors
therefor with respect to desired ones of the different locations.
For instance, reference wireless packets 10511 originated from
transaction area 1910 are processed by training module to generate
RSS vectors 10911, reference wireless packets 10511 originated from
queue area 1920 are processed by training module to generate RSS
vectors 10921, and reference wireless packets 10511 originated from
entrance area 110930 are processed by training module to generate
RSS vectors 109131. FIG. 11 illustrates a subset of corresponding
RSS vectors 10911, 10921, and 10931 described above with respect to
FIG. 10 under different bitrate, frequency channel, and packet size
conditions. In the present example, as seen in FIG. 11, reference
device type 10510 comprises an iPhone.RTM. 5 from Apple.RTM.
Corporation. Other RSS charts similar to RSS chart 10000 can be
generated for other reference device types with respect to
locations 1910, 1920, and 10930 if desired. RSS charts need not be
tied to specific device models. For instance, more generic RSS
charts may be generated for a generic device type (tablets,
cellular phone, smartphones), for devices of a specific wireless
carrier (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, etc.), for devices of a
specific wireless technology (WiFi, WPAN, W-CDMA, HSPA, EDGE,
WiMAX, LTE, etc.), and/or for devices of a specific brand, among
others.
[0065] With the RSS charts generated by training module 2300,
localization module 2220 can cross-reference what the RSS of a
wireless client that corresponds to reference device type 10510 is
supposed to be like with respect to the different locations within
business locale 1900. Accordingly, with respect to FIG. 1,
localization module 2220 can ascertain that, if the RSS of wireless
packets 1311 of wireless client 1310 correlates to the RSS of one
of RSS vectors 10911 in RSS chart 10000 (FIG. 11) for a
corresponding bitrate, frequency channel, and/or packet size, then
wireless client 1310 is likely to be located at transaction area
1910.
[0066] Considering the above, training module 2220 (FIG. 2) is
configured to generate RSS chart 10000 of a portion of business
locale 1900 for reference device type 10510, as seen in FIGS.
10-11. RSS chart 10000 can be generated with respect to reference
signal strengths 11150 (FIG. 11), which can be determined by
scanning module 2210 from reference wireless packets 10511 (FIG.
10) of reference device type 10510. Reference wireless packets
10511 comprise nearby reference wireless packets 105111, which are
transmitted by reference device type 10510 from nearby reference
location 1810. Reference wireless packets 10511 also comprise
distant reference wireless packets 105112, which are transmitted
from reference device type 10510 at distant reference location
1820. Reference signal strengths 11150 (FIG. 11) comprise nearby
reference signal strengths 11151, which are calculated by scanning
module 2210 from nearby reference wireless packets 105111 (FIG.
10). Reference signal strengths 11150 (FIG. 11) also comprise
distant reference signal strengths 11152, which are calculated by
scanning module 2210 from distant reference wireless packets 105112
(FIG. 10). In the present example, nearby reference location 1810
corresponds to transaction area 1910, which is nearby to radio 1710
through which reference wireless packets 10511 are received by
transaction system 1000 for processing by scanning module 2220.
Distant reference location 1820 corresponds to queue area 1920,
which is more distant with respect to radio 1710. In other
implementations, other areas of business locale 1900 can correspond
to nearby reference location 1810 and/or distant reference location
1820.
[0067] Once RSS chart 10000 is generated by training module 2300,
it can be stored for future access by localization module 2220 when
determining the localization of wireless clients 1300 (FIG. 1). In
some examples, RSS chart 10000 (FIGS. 10-11) can be stored at
database 2250 (FIG. 2). With respect to the example of FIG. 1, to
localize wireless client 1310 within business locale 1900, scanning
module 2220 (FIG. 2) would first identify wireless client 1310
(FIG. 1) as being present within business locale 1900, and would
determine the RSS and other information or meta-data from wireless
packets 1311 as described above. Localization module 2220 (FIG. 2)
could then compare such information about wireless packets 1311 of
wireless client 1310 against RSS chart 10000 (FIGS. 10-11). For
instance, in some implementations, localization module 2220 can
compare the RSS of wireless packets 1311 (FIG. 1) against reference
signal strengths 1150 (FIG. 11) that correspond to the reference
device type, bitrate, frequency channel, and/or packet size of
wireless packets 1311. As an example, if the RSS from wireless
packets 1311 (FIG. 1) corresponds to one of nearby reference signal
strengths 11151 (FIG. 11), localization module 2220 can ascertain
that the location of wireless client 1310 is likely to be at
transaction area 1910 (FIG. 1). As another example, if the RSS from
wireless packets 1311 (FIG. 1) corresponds to one of distant
reference signal strengths 11152 (FIG. 11), localization module
2220 can ascertain that the location of wireless client 1310 is
likely to be at queue area 1920 (FIG. 1).
[0068] As described above, training module 2300 can also be
configured to generate other RSS charts for different reference
device types. Thus, besides RSS chart 10000 for reference device
type 10510 (FIGS. 10-11), training module 2300 can generate a
second RSS chart similar to RSS chart 10000 but for a second
reference device type. Thus, if the client device type of wireless
client 1310 did not match that of reference device type 10510 for
RSS chart 1000, or if the client device type or wireless client
1310 could not be determined, localization module 2220 could
proceed to compare the RSS of wireless packets 1310 against the
reference signal strengths of the other RSS charts, such as said
second RSS chart, and thereby try to ascertain the location of
wireless client 1310.
[0069] Training module 2300 can also be configured to generate RSS
charts for different reference bitrates. In the present example of
FIGS. 10-11, the bitrates at which reference device type 10510 can
transmit reference wireless packets 10511 can vary, such that not
all of reference wireless packets 10511 are transmitted at the same
bitrate. RSS chart 10000 comprises entries for reference signal
strengths 11150 from reference wireless packets 10511 of
corresponding different reference bitrates (labeled BR-1 and BR-2).
Thus, RSS vector entries for bitrate BR-1 in RSS chart 10000
comprise a first RSS chart with respect to bitrate BR-1, and RSS
vector entries for bitrate BR-2 in RSS chart 10000 comprise a
second RSS chart with respect to bitrate BR-2.
[0070] As previously described, to locate wireless client 1310 at
business locale 1900 (FIG. 1), scanning module 2210 can be
configured to determine the client device type and the bitrate of
wireless packets 1311 of wireless client 1310. Localization module
2220 can thus use such information to narrow or focus its
comparison of wireless packets 1311 against such first or second
RSS charts of RSS chart 10000 to localize wireless client 1310.
[0071] For instance, if the client device type of wireless client
1310 (FIG. 1) corresponds to the reference device type of RSS chart
10000 (FIG. 11), localization module 2220 can compare the bitrate
of wireless packets 1311 (FIG. 1) against the different bitrates of
the RSS vector entries in RSS chart 10000 (FIG. 11). Thus, if the
bitrate of wireless packets 1311 correlates to bitrate BR-1,
localization module 2220 can proceed to ascertain the location of
wireless client 1310 based on a comparison between the RSS of
wireless packets 1311 against the reference signal strengths for
bitrate BR-1 in RSS chart 10000 (FIG. 11) Similarly, if the bitrate
of wireless packets 1311 correlates to bitrate BR-2, localization
module 2220 can proceed to ascertain the location of wireless
client 1310 based on a comparison between the RSS of wireless
packets 1311 against the reference signal strengths for bitrate
BR-2 in RSS chart 10000 (FIG. 11).
[0072] Training module 2300 can also be configured to generate RSS
charts for different reference frequency channels. In the present
example of FIGS. 10-11, the frequency channels at which reference
device type 10510 can transmit reference wireless packets 10511 can
vary, such that not all of reference wireless packets 10511 need be
transmitted at the same frequency channel. RSS chart 10000
comprises entries for reference signal strengths 1150 from
reference wireless packets 10511 of corresponding different
reference frequency channels (labeled FC-1 and FC-2). Thus, RSS
vector entries for frequency channel FC-1 in RSS chart 10000
comprise a first RSS chart with respect to frequency channel FC-1,
and RSS vector entries for frequency channel FC-2 in RSS chart
10000 comprise a second RSS chart with respect to frequency channel
FC-2.
[0073] As previously described, to locate wireless client 1310 at
business locale 1900 (FIG. 1), scanning module 2210 can be
configured to determine the client device type and the frequency
channel of wireless packets 1311 of wireless client 1310.
Localization module 2220 can thus use such information to narrow or
focus its comparison of wireless packets 1311 against such first or
second RSS charts of RSS chart 10000 to localize wireless client
1310.
[0074] For instance, if the client device type of wireless client
1310 (FIG. 1) corresponds to the reference device type of RSS chart
10000 (FIG. 1), localization module 2220 can compare the frequency
channel of wireless packets 1311 (FIG. 1) against the different
frequency channels of the RSS vector entries in RSS chart 10000
(FIG. 11). Thus, if the frequency channel of wireless packets 1311
correlates to frequency channel FC-1, localization module 2220 can
proceed to ascertain the location of wireless client 1310 based on
a comparison between the RSS of wireless packets 1311 against the
reference signal strengths for frequency channel FC-1 in RSS chart
10000 (FIG. 11). Similarly, if the frequency channel of wireless
packets 1311 correlates to frequency channel FC-2, localization
module 2220 can proceed to ascertain the location of wireless
client 1310 based on a comparison between the RSS of wireless
packets 1311 against the reference signal strengths for frequency
channel FC-2 in RSS chart 10000 (FIG. 11).
[0075] Training module 2300 can also be configured to generate RSS
charts with respect to both different reference frequency channels
and different reference bitrates. In the present example of FIGS.
10-11, RSS chart 10000 comprises entries for reference signal
strengths 11150 from reference wireless packets 10511 of
corresponding different reference bitrates (labeled BR-1 and BR-2)
and different reference frequency channels (labeled FC-1 and FC-2).
Thus, (a) RSS vector entries for bitrate BR-1 and frequency channel
FC-1 in RSS chart 10000 comprise a first RSS chart, (b) RSS vector
entries for bitrate BR-2 and frequency channel FC-2 in RSS chart
10000 comprise a second RSS chart, (c) RSS vector entries for
bitrate BR-1 and frequency channel FC-2 in RSS chart 10000 comprise
a third RSS chart, and (d) RSS vector entries for bitrate BR-2 and
frequency channel FC-1 in RSS chart 10000 comprise a fourth RSS
chart.
[0076] As previously described, to locate wireless client 1310 at
business locale 1900 (FIG. 1), scanning module 2210 can be
configured to determine the client device type, the bitrate, and
the frequency channel of wireless packets 1311 of wireless client
1310. Localization module 2220 can thus use such information to
narrow or focus its comparison of wireless packets 1311 against
such first, second, third, or fourth RSS charts of RSS chart 10000
to localize wireless client 1310.
[0077] For instance, if the client device type of wireless client
1310 (FIG. 1) corresponds to the reference device type of RSS chart
10000 (FIG. 11), localization module 2220 can compare the bitrate
of wireless packets 1311 (FIG. 1) against the different bitrates of
the RSS vector entries in RSS chart 10000 (FIG. 11), and can
compare the frequency channel of wireless packets 1311 (FIG. 1)
against the different frequency channels of the RSS vector entries
in RSS chart 10000 (FIG. 11).
[0078] Thus, if the bitrate of wireless packets 1311 correlates to
bitrate BR-1, and the frequency channel of wireless packets 1311
correlates to frequency channel FC-1, localization module 2220 can
proceed to ascertain the location of wireless client 1310 based on
a comparison between the RSS of wireless packets 1311 against the
reference signal strengths corresponding to both bitrate BR-1 and
frequency channel FC-1 in the first RSS chart of RSS chart 10000
(FIG. 11).
[0079] Similarly, if the bitrate of wireless packets 1311
correlates to bitrate BR-2, and the frequency channel of wireless
packets 1311 correlates to frequency channel FC-2, localization
module 2220 can proceed to ascertain the location of wireless
client 1310 based on a comparison between the RSS of wireless
packets 1311 against the reference signal strengths corresponding
to both bitrate BR-2 and frequency channel FC-2 in the second RSS
chart of RSS chart 10000 (FIG. 11).
[0080] Similarly, if the bitrate of wireless packets 1311
correlates to bitrate BR-1, and the frequency channel of wireless
packets 1311 correlates to frequency channel FC-2, localization
module 2220 can proceed to ascertain the location of wireless
client 1310 based on a comparison between the RSS of wireless
packets 1311 against the reference signal strengths corresponding
to both bitrate BR-1 and frequency channel FC-2 in the third RSS
chart of RSS chart 10000 (FIG. 11).
[0081] Similarly, if the bitrate of wireless packets 1311
correlates to bitrate BR-2, and the frequency channel of wireless
packets 1311 correlates to frequency channel FC-1, localization
module 2220 can proceed to ascertain the location of wireless
client 1310 based on a comparison between the RSS of wireless
packets 1311 against the reference signal strengths corresponding
to both bitrate BR-2 and frequency channel FC-1 in the fourth RSS
chart of RSS chart 10000 (FIG. 11).
[0082] Moving on, FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart for a method
12000 of for providing a wireless transaction system. In some
implementations, the wireless transaction system can be similar to
transaction system 1000 as described above with respect to FIGS.
1-11.
[0083] Method 12000 comprises block 12100 for providing a client ID
module. In some embodiments, the client ID module can be similar to
client ID module 1200 (FIG. 2). The client ID module of block 12100
can comprise in some implementations a channel switching module
(which can be similar to channel switching module 2230 (FIG. 2) as
described above), a scanning module (which can be similar to
scanning module 2210 (FIG. 2) as described above), and/or a
localization module (which can be similar to localization module
2220 (FIG. 2) as described above).
[0084] Method 12000 can also optionally comprise blocks 12200
and/or block 12300. Block 12200 can comprise providing a training
module, which can be similar in some embodiments to training module
2300 (FIG. 2) as described above. Block 12300 can comprise
providing a point of service module, which can be similar in some
embodiments to POS module 1100 (FIGS. 1-2) as described above.
[0085] FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart for a method 13000 for
transacting with wireless clients via a transaction system. In some
examples, the transaction system can be similar to transaction
system 1000 as described above with respect to FIGS. 1-12. In the
same or other examples, the wireless clients can be similar to
wireless clients 1300 (FIG. 1) as also described above.
[0086] Method 13000 can comprise block 13100 for generating, with a
training module, a first signal strength chart of a portion of a
business locale. In some examples, the training module can be
similar to training module 2300 (FIG. 2) of transaction system
1000, while the signal strength chart can be similar to signal
strength chart 10000 (FIGS. 10-11) or variation thereof. Similarly,
the business locale can be similar to business locale 1900 (FIGS.
1, 10), or another business locale for which wireless client
localization is desired. Block 13100 can be optional in some
implementations.
[0087] Block 13200 of method 13000 comprises scanning, via a
scanning module, a wireless channel set at the business locale for
wireless signals of a registered customer set. In some examples,
the scanning module can be similar to scanning module 2230 (FIG. 2)
as described above. The wireless channel set, the wireless signals,
and the registered customer set can be respectively similar to
wireless channel set 1600, to the wireless signals of wireless
clients 1300, and to registered customer set 2251 as described
above with respect to FIGS. 1-2 and the different implementations
of transaction system 1000 (FIGS. 1-11).
[0088] Block 13300 of method 13000 comprises identifying via the
scanning module, out of the wireless signals, first wireless
packets of a first client of the registered customer et. For
example, the first wireless packets of the first client can be
similar to wireless packets 1311 of wireless client 1310, as
illustrated above in FIG. 1 and as described with respect to
transaction system 1000 (FIGS. 1-11).
[0089] Method 13000 also comprises block 13400 for calculating, via
the scanning module, a first client signal strength of the first
wireless packets. The first client signal strength can be similar
to the RSS of one or more packets of wireless packets 1311 of
wireless client 1310 (FIG. 1), as described with respect to
transaction system 1000 (FIGS. 1-11).
[0090] Method 13000 further comprises block 13500 for calculating,
via a localization module, whether the first client is at a
transaction area of the business locale based on the first client
signal strength. The localization module can be similar to
localization module 2220 (FIG. 2) in some examples, and the
calculation of whether the first client is at the transaction area
of the business local can be similar to one or more of the
different calculations by localization module 2220 with respect to
determining whether wireless client 1310 and/or 1320 is located at
transaction area 1910 of business locale 1900 (FIG. 1) as described
with respect to transaction system 1000 (FIGS. 1-11).
[0091] Block 13600 of method 13000 comprises presenting a user
interface to a user at the transaction area via a POS module, the
user interface comprising a first payment option correlated to the
first client when the localization module calculates that the first
client is at the transaction area. The POS module and the user
interface can be respectively similar to POS module 1100 and user
interface 1110 (FIGS. 1, 2) in some embodiments, while the first
payment option can be similar to transaction option 6511 (FIGS. 6,
9) correlated to wireless client 1310 (FIG. 1) as describes above
with respect to transaction system 1000 (FIGS. 1-11).
[0092] In some examples, one or more of the different blocks of
methods 12000 or 13000 can be combined into a single block or
performed simultaneously, and/or the sequence of such blocks can be
changed. For example, blocks 12100 and 12300 of method 12000 can be
performed simultaneously, such as where the client ID module and
the point of service module are comprised by a single unit. In the
same or other examples, some of the blocks of methods 12000 or
13000 can be subdivided into several sub-blocks. For example, block
13500 of method 13000 can be subdivided into further sub-blocks,
such as a sub-block for correlating the first client signal
strength against the first signal strength chart generated by the
training module of block 13100, such as described above with
respect to the correlation of the RSS of wireless packets 1311
(FIG. 1) with the reference signal strengths 11150 of RSS chart
10000 (FIGS. 10-11). There can also be examples where methods 12000
or 13000 can comprise further or different blocks. As an example
method 13000 can comprise an additional block for emitting a
payment confirmation request to the first client when the first
payment option is selected by the user, as described above with
respect to payment confirmation request 7510 and payment
authentication 7520 (FIG. 7). In addition, there may be examples
where methods 12000 or 13000 can comprise only part of the steps
described above. For instance, block 13100 can be optional in some
implementations of method 13000. Other variations can be
implemented for methods 12000 or 13000 without departing from the
scope of the present disclosure.
[0093] Although the wireless client transaction systems related
methods herein have been described with reference to specific
embodiments, various changes may be made without departing from the
spirit or scope of the present disclosure. For example, there can
be situations where training module 2300 may not be available or
where it may not be otherwise feasible to build a radio fingerprint
such as described above with respect to RSS chart 10000 (FIGS.
10-11). As an alternative, localization module 2220 (FIG. 2) may
rely on a direct comparison between the RSS of the wireless packets
of the different wireless clients 1300 present at business locale
1900 (FIG. 1), and ascertain that the one with the greatest RSS is
at or closest to transaction area 1910 as described above. As
another alternative, localization module 2220 (FIG. 2) may predict
RSS at various locations using an RF propagation model, such as the
log-distance path loss model. Other model-based techniques can be
used as well by localization module 2220 instead of RSS chart 10000
generated as described above by training module 2220, such as a
ray-tracing model or a Bayesian hierarchical approach.
[0094] Several other examples of such possible changes have been
given in the foregoing description. Other permutations of the
different embodiments having one or more of the features of the
various figures are likewise contemplated. Accordingly, the
disclosure herein is intended to be illustrative of the scope of
the invention and is not intended to be limiting. It is intended
that the scope of this application shall be limited only to the
extent required by the appended claims.
[0095] The wireless client transaction systems related methods
discussed herein may be implemented in a variety of embodiments,
and the foregoing discussion of certain of these embodiments does
not necessarily represent a complete description of all possible
embodiments. Rather, the detailed description of the drawings, and
the drawings themselves, disclose at least one preferred
embodiment, and may disclose alternative embodiments.
[0096] All elements claimed in any particular claim are essential
to the embodiment claimed in that particular claim. Consequently,
replacement of one or more claimed elements constitutes
reconstruction and not repair. Additionally, benefits, other
advantages, and solutions to problems have been described with
regard to specific embodiments. The benefits, advantages, solutions
to problems, and any element or elements that may cause any
benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced,
however, are not to be construed as critical, required, or
essential features or elements of any or all of the claims, unless
such benefits, advantages, solutions, or elements are expressly
stated in such claims.
[0097] Moreover, embodiments and limitations disclosed herein are
not dedicated to the public under the doctrine of dedication if the
embodiments and/or limitations: (1) are not expressly claimed in
the claims; and (2) are or are potentially equivalents of express
elements and/or limitations in the claims under the doctrine of
equivalents.
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